Kings’ Ellis Reveals Which NBA Player Is The Toughest To Defend Originally Appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Keon Ellis is known for his defensive skills, but even the young Kings guard has had his challenges on that end of the court.
After breaking into Sacramento’s rotation and eventually the starting lineup late in the 2023-24 season, Ellis has often been tasked with defending the other team’s best player. While there’s no stopping some of the game’s biggest stars, Ellis has done his best to limit what the world knows they’re capable of on the court.
But who does he think is the toughest to defend among the barrage of superstars the 24-year-old has had to face? Before NBC Sports California’s Deuce Mason could ask the full question, Ellis didn’t hesitate to give his answer.
“Kyrie Irving is probably the hardest guy to defend,” Ellis said in a recent “Deuce & Mo” appearance. “Because I’m most concerned about defending guys who can shoot from long range. If you can shoot the 3 at a high clip, it’s like, ‘Damn,’ because now I have to press up and I can’t use my wingspan.”
Ellis went on to explain how other explosive players, like Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, can impact the game in different ways but aren’t necessarily as reliant on the 3-ball. This makes it a little easier to defend such players.
But that doesn’t apply to players like Irving, who can score at all three levels.
“But a guy like [Jalen] Brunson or [Steph] Curry, [Damian Lillard]”You have to be in their airspace because if there’s a little bit of space, it’s going to go up and we know how those guys do it,” Ellis continued. “But Kyrie, he can shoot from 3, but he can also get to his spot in the midrange, he does something you’ve never seen before. You think you’ve got him and he just throws something up with his left hand and it doesn’t hit anything but the net.”
For over a decade, the NBA world has had the privilege of witnessing Kyrie Irving’s cheat code. His handles alone elevate his game to a level few in the history of the game have.
Ellis admits that defending Irving is a nightmare, but he’ll never forget the moment he almost — almost — picked him.
“His handles are so tight, he knows what he’s doing, he knows how to get to his spots,” Ellis said. “I almost stole it from him once — almost. He hit a crossover and I picked him off and he might have gone out of bounds, but he thought I kicked him. He was like, ‘You kicked him?’ I was like, ‘No, I almost stole that.’
“If I had stolen that, that would have been one of my most important memories.”
Fortunately for Ellis, he’ll get plenty more opportunities with the 2024-25 NBA season just around the corner.
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